Seam for woven-wire belts



June 19, 1928. 1,674,289

H. LINDSAY SEAM FOR WOVEN WIRE BELTS Filed Dec. 2, 1925 my? gggm M? alike-z new Patented June "19, 1928.

UNITED sTATEs- PATENT OFFICE.

HAMILTON LINDSAY, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE LINDSAY WIRE WEAV- ING COMPANY, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, A. CORPORATION OF OHIO.

snm roawovEN-wmr: BELTS.

Application filed December 2, 1925. Serial m). 72,731. i i

This invention relates to means for joining the ends of a wire fabric to form an endless belt which is particularly useful on Fourdrinier paper machines. My invention is also adapted for use in connectionwith a belt having a special weave as set forth in my copending application, Serial No. 525,403, filed December 28, 1921.

Briefly the belt illustrated in my copending application embodies a fabric wherein the lower knuckles of the longitudinally extending or warp wires, pass continuously beneath two or more crossor woof wires instead of only one. Accordingly the warp wires are divided into two groups, each preferably of three wires in number during the weaving operation and are so manipulated that one group forms one plane of the shed,

while the other two groups form the. other plane of the shed, while the shuttle passes therebetween and across the loom. These groups are interchanged at each stroke of the shuttle whereby the fabric so formed has short knuckles on the upper side thereof, and long knuckles on the lower side thereof. This results in a construction which when formed into a belt gives a longer wearing surface to the undersides' of the belt, thereby increasing the life thereof.

One of the difficulties in joining the ends of a belt is the provision of a seam having sufficient strength to effect a strong joint yet which does not fill the interstices, which would render it diflicult for water to pass through the seam when the belt is' in use, and at the'same time forms a sufficient support between the ends of. the fabric so as not to drain the pulp.

Seams for joining the ends of-woven wire belts have heretofore been made, but usually such scams require the use of a closing wire in addition to stitching wires which are intended to reinforce the end of the belt so as to prevent movement of the woof wires when the belt is in use.

Accordingly one of' the objects of my invention is the provision of a seam having suflicient space for the passage of water therethrough and sufiicient support between the ends of the fabric so thatthe pulp is properly drained and at the same time supported adjacent the seam whereby the paper is not weakened. Furthermore my invention includes a seam, the wires of which lie in substantially the same plane as the warp wires, so that the wear occasioned by the passage of the seam across a suction box is not greater than that. occurring on other parts of the belt.

Another object of my invention is the provision of a seam which eliminates the necess1ty for a closing wire independently of stltching wires, wherefore I eliminate one complete operation in the joining of a. belt. This is advantageous particularly since the wldth of a belt is usually 12 to 15 feet while the fabric is about sixty mesh, and since the sewlng must be accomplished by hand.

The preferred embodiment for carrying out my invention is illustrated in connection with the accompanying. drawings and is hereinafter described in detail. The essent1al features and characteristics are summarized in the claims.

In the drawings, Figs. 1 and .2 are plan views .lllustrating portions adjacent the ends of a belt having a weave constructed as herein described and illustrating a scam embodymg my'invention, wherein Fig. 1 shows the top side of the belt while Fig. 2 shows the bottom side thereof; and Fig. 3 is'a section taken on the line 33 in Fig. 1.

My invention is well adapted for use in joining the ends of a belt embodying any standard weave, but I have illustrated it in connection with the special weave described and claimed in my copending application. Accordingly by referring to the drawings the fabric is shown as having warp wires A A A etc., which are interwoven with woof wires at one end of the belt as indi' cated at B B B etc. The woof wires at the cooperating end of the belt are indicated at BB ,-BB BB etc. The manner in which the weave is made is illustrated by the upper end and right side of the belt in Fig. 1 wherein the warp wire A passes over the woof wire B then beneath two tranverse wires 13 and B over the wire B, and then beneath the next two transverse wires of 100 which only one is shown. The next warp wire indicated at A passes beneath two woof wires B and B then over the wire B thence beneath the next two woof wires B, B etc. The third warp wire A passes beneath the 105 woof wire B then over the woof wire B thence beneath the next two Wires B and B, over the wire B etc. The woof wires BB to BB respectively illustrated in the lower half of Fig. 1 are interwoven with'the warp 110 wires in the same manner as illustrated for the upper half of the fabric shown in Fig. 1. The fabric thus shown and described has warp wires which pass alternately over one woof wire and beneath two succeeding woof wires while the woof wires pass alternatel-y over two and beneath one warp wire. This provides a belt having on its under side a series of long longitudinal or Warp knuckles in contradistinction to the short or abrupt knuckles on the upper side. This provides a, weave wherein every third warp wire adjacent the same woof wire) has a short knuckle on the upper side as is shown particularly in Fig. 1, wherein the wire B has short knuckles on the top side thereof indicated at 15 to 19 respectively. Similarly the wire B on the top side of the fabric has short knuckles, each positioned one warp wire to the left of those forming the short knuckles over the wire B as indicated at 20 to 24 respectively. Other short knuckles on the lower region of the belt are indicated on the woof wire BBf-at 25 to 29 and on the wire BB at 31 to 34 respectively.

The seam embodying my invention is shown as comprising. a single closing wire S which is looped around the ends of the belt. Before the seam-forming wire is laced into position, the end woof wires B and BB respectively are permanently fixed to the war wires as bybrazing or soldering. If suc wires are soldered, then the flux mustbe carefully cleaned away so as not to fill the interstices in the belt.

Referring now to Fig. 1, the seam-forming wire is shown as passing downwardly through the belt opening 10 and as passing along the bottom across the space between the warp wire A and around the corresponding wire on the other end of the belt.

The seam wire then passes upwardl through the opening-11 to the top of the be t. From the end of the belt.

this point, it extends along the to across the seam opening and then downwar ly through theopening 12. From here it extends along the under side of the belt to the opening 13, through which it passes and then across the top of the belt to the other belt end and down through the opening 14. From this point, the loo spacing may be repeated for the entire wi th of the belt.

A seam made as heretofore described may be accomplished with the use of a single closing wire which extends over the end woof wire on each end of the belt, and which also extends over other woof wires remote from In the preferred arrangement, the closing wire or seam-formin wire extends alternately over the end woo wire and the second woof wire in succession across the entire width, of the belt. This arrangement is also carried outon bothends of the belt. Another important result which ,pass over the woof wire BB Similar 3,

in this manner is the-fact that the stretch of wire between the openings 12 and 13 on the under side of the belt lies substantially parallel with the warp wires. This minimizes the opportunity for wear on the seam wire and thereby tends to increase the life of a belt.

In addition to the alternate spacing of the closing or seam-forming wire over the two woof wires adjacent to the end of the belt, I have chosen particular openings through which the loops are passed in making the seam. For example, the loop passing through the opening 12 extends around the woof wire. 13. on one side of which, the warp wire A has the fall of a short knuckle 20 toa ward the end of the belt while the warp wire A has the rise of the short knuckle 35 toward the end of the belt. Since the tendency of the pressure, placed on the seamformingwire during the making of the belt, and also the pressure, which is exerted on the seam while the belt is in use, is to displace the woof wires, then it will be evident that the location of the loops is quite important. To carry out this advantageous positioning of the loops,'I have shown the inner loops on one side of the belt as passing over the woof wire B and as extending through every third opening across the belt, but each inner loop is reinforced on one side by the rise of a short war knuckle and on the opposite side by the all of a short warp knuckle. The same is true on the opposite end of the belt where the inner loo s the outer loops pass over the woof wires 1 and BB respectively and are disposed adjacent every third opening so as to place them between the rise of a short warp knuckle and the fall of a short warp knuckle, respectively. By the rise of a short warp knuckle,

I mean to imply that part of a warp wirewhich rises from the under side of the fabric after having passed under two woof wiresJ By} the fall of 'a short warp knuckle, I mean t at part of -'a war wire which passes to the bottom of the abric in order to pass under two adjacent Woof wires. Thus, each short knuckle has arise on one side of the woof wire and a fall on the opposite side. The fall portion is that portion toward theseam opening.

A further characteristic of a seam made in accordance with my inventionis the fact that a single warp wire extends between adjacent loops and then two warp wires extend between the'next two loops which sequence of one and two is carried out across the entire width'of the belt. This arrangement prevents clogging of the .necessary openings in the seam and thus prevents that portion of the. paper which is made from pulp adjacent the seam from being weaker than the remaining portion. This is quite an important -factor in the manufacture of the seam, because of the fact that any defects which might occur in the paper as a result of the seam would be repeated each time the seam is presented to the pulp. A particular advantage of a seam embodying my invention is the fact that no stitching wire need be employed for holding the woof wire in proper relationship with respect to the warp wire, and that the end woof wires may be attached to the warp wires as by brazing or soldering without clogging the openings to a prohibitive degree.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A seam for woven wire fabric con1prising a single seam-forming wire which extends back into the fabric alternately over different woof wires, and which passes through every third opening across the width of the fabric.

2. A seam for woven wire belts comprising a single seam-formingwire havin inner and outer loops adjacent each end 0 the belt, some of said loops extending back into the belt on one end thereof and over a plurality of woof wires, and other of said loops passing over the end woof wire, the loops being passed through the belt at every third opening.

3. A seam for woven wire belts comprising a single seam-forming wire which has loops engaging woof wires on each end of the belt, said loops being arranged to pass alternately over the end woof wire and over a woof wire remote from the end'respectively, and said alternate arrangement of loops extending entirely across the width of the belt, and each loop being passed through the belt at every third opening. 7

4. A seam for woven wire belts comprising a single seam-forming wire having loops I which connect the ends of the belt, the loops on one end being arranged alternately over the end woof wire and over the second woof wire respectively, and each loop being passed through the belt at every third opening.

5. A seanrfor woven wire belts wherein the .weave comprises long knuckles on one side of the belt and short knuckles on the other-side thereof, comprising a single seamforming wire having loops which pass through the belt on each end thereof in such manner that the rise of a short warp knuckle is on one side of each loop while the fall of a short warp knuckle is on the other side of each loop, and said loops being arranged alternately over the end and second woof wires respectively.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto affix my signature.

HAMILTON LINDSAY. 

